No on Props. 94, 95, 96 and 97
By: JOHN ZAITZ and CHERYL SCHMIT - Commentary
Deals are not worth making | ∞
John Zaitz is a Canyon Lakes City Council member and Cheryl Schmit is executive director of Stand Up for California!, the state’s leading gambling watchdog citizens organization.
We are urging California voters to reject Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97 on the Feb. 5 ballot. These propositions are "sweetheart deals" for the Big 4 tribes ---- Pechanga, Sycuan, Morongo and Aqua Caliente ---- but they are a bad deal for California taxpayers, workers and the other 104 tribes in California, including many who are our neighbors.
The Big 4 tribes that have secured these unfair deals generate huge profits from their existing casinos and spend heavily to influence Sacramento politicians and public policy. These deals are a gain for a few at the expense of many.
Taken as a package, the Big 4 deals would bring a dramatic shift in the stateís Indian gaming policy. Such an expansion would erode local control of our neighborhoods by voters and elected officials. This shift in policy would change the character of our communities and the quality of life provided by hardworking families.
The new schemes would make the Big 4 tribes the beneficiaries of one of the largest expansions of gambling in U.S. history. Allowing the Big 4 to control one-third of the stateís Indian gaming pie means their dominant casinos could economically devastate other tribes while the deals do nothing to improve revenues for the poorest of tribes.
These Big 4 tribes would be home to 17,000 new slot machines ---- more than the number of slots at 12 of the largest Las Vegas casinos, including the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mirage and Mandalay Bay.
These new deals also allow the Big 4 to manipulate the revenue-sharing formula and decide how much to underpay the state. The tribes ---- not independent auditors ---- would choose which slot machines to pay on. Even the stateís independent, nonpartisan legislative analyst says their revenue promises are unrealistic.
In addition to the wildly exaggerated revenue promises youíve seen in the multimillion-dollar advertising barrage from the Big 4, the TV ads play fast and loose with the facts concerning where the money would be spent. The gambling deals donít guarantee that even one penny of the funds would go to public safety or to education. It is disingenuous for the Big 4 tribes to suggest otherwise.
Under Props. 94-97 casino workers are not protected. The most basic protections (health care, safety and anti-discrimination provisions) are conveniently omitted from these sweetheart deals. These are the same four tribes with a history of denying affordable health care to their employees.
In fact, a study of one tribeís casino conducted by a UC Riverside professor of economics found more than half of the children of that tribeís casino workers were forced to rely on taxpayer-funded health care.
Like worker regulations, environmental protections are also weakened. Previous compacts included a process that mirrors the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, but the Big 4 deals fail to include the most standard fundamental protection ---- a 55-day comment period for stakeholders. That comment period is really the only way community members have a chance to voice environmental concerns about mitigation of the impacts of proposed casino expansions.
On Feb. 5, voters should send a resounding message rejecting the unfair gambling deals and send all the parties back to the negotiating table. If we permit the expansion of gambling, it should be fair to taxpayers, workers, the environment and other tribes. Please vote No on Props. 94, 95, 96 and 97.
John Zaitz is a Canyon Lakes City Council member and Cheryl Schmit is executive director of Stand Up for California!, the stateís leading gambling watchdog citizens organization.
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Don't believe it wrote on Jan 13, 2008 10:51 AM:A study showed tribes' casino workers kids had no health insurance? NOT likely. They rake in upwards of $90,000 per year per person. If those children aren't insured, it's the parents fault, not the tribe's or the casinos. Gaming tribes distribute huge amounts of wealth to their members every year!
As an employee... wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:24 PM:of Pechanga, I have nothing but praise for the way they treat us. I am not Native American, nor I am related to any. I have excellent health care benefits (medical, dental, and vision), an unmatched 401k plan (per a fiancial advisor), and plenty of paid days off. I LOVE working for Pechanga and hope to work there for another 20+ years. Vote YES on 94-97. It is a good deal for California and for the local communities who benefit from the Tribes.
WAKE UP CALIFORNIA wrote on Jan 30, 2008 7:58 PM:If there is uncertainty about HOW the state gets paid, we should vote NO.
If we don’t believe the tribes suddenly care about our state budget, vote NO.
If all of 108 tribes in California haven’t received their compact yet, vote NO.
If you believe that 83% is a good tax rate for the lottery, but 15% isn’t for a gaming monopoly, vote NO.
If you believe in civil rights and understand that Pechanga has violated their members civil rights, vote NO
If you know that Indian Gaming will not go away with these flawed compacts, vote NO.
If you think that the tribes don’t deserve $36 billion while we get $9 billion, vote NO.
If you think Pechanga should NOT be rewarded for cheating their people, vote NO.
The LAO says we WILL NOT get $9 Billion, therefore, the compact doesn’t live up to expectations and thus, will not deliver on the Big four tribes promise, so vote NO.
The aforementioned Perata and Nunez are for these compacts, leaving unions out, so that is reason enough to vote NO.
If you think something was "unusual" about how the BIA handled the compacts, VOTE NO.
If you think suing to keep us from voting as the tribes did is wrong, VOTE NO.
If you think we really need the money, but a tribe shouldn't benefit from hurting their people, then vote NO on 94.
To: Wake Up California wrote on Feb 1, 2008 2:56 PM:WOW, You must really be getting desperate, You don't even care about the truth anymore. You now hold the record for the amount of unsubstantiated lies and half truths given in one statement. "Two wrongs don't make it right" and saying NO 13 times in one response does not make you right either. Congratulations, You must be proud of your accomplishment!!
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